John jameson



JOHN JAMESON, OF GATESHEAD, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR COMPRESSING ELASTIC FIiUIDS.

T 0 all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN JAMESON, of 10 Catherine Terrace, Gateshead, in the county of Durham, England, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Compressingand Expanding Aeriform Fluids; and I, the said JOHN JAMESON, do hereby declare that the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement thereof-that is to say:

It is a wellknown fact that the application of heat to elastic fluid contained in a close vessel produces an increase of pressure therein and apparatus has at various times been proposed for deriving mechanical advantage from the pressure so produced namely what are known as air or gas engines hitherto however as I believe without much practical benefit. In former meth- `ods the pressure produced by the application of heat to elastic liuid in a close vessel was made `to act` primarily directly upon the machinery which it was require-d to move but I by-` a system of combination of old apparatus and by the consecutive order maintained in the application of heat to elastic fluid contained in two or more close vessels employ fthe pressure so produced in one close vessel primarily for the production `of increased pressure to the elastic fluid in a second similar close vessel in which such increased pressure is further enhanced by the application of heat to the fluid therein and being thus enhanced maybe employed for increasing pressure in the fluid contained in athird similar close vessel being then also further enhancedV as before and so on to any extent required before applying it and thus to obtain a high degree of pressure while using a moderate ,degree of heat.

4At the same timeI can obtain partial vacuum by the use of like apparatus so combined and so employed. `The combinations of apparatus for effecting these objects I call combination in series and the methods of em lo in@ it serial action and` P y z:

although other aeriform matters may be used I prefer to `employ atmospheric air for the purposes of my invention.

The drawing represents a vertical section of a combination of mechanism according to` my invention which I believe will be found the most simple arrangement and at the same time one aordinga full illustration of my invention. y A isa vertical section of an air tight cylinder truly bored` and fitted as after described .with other apparatus and A2 A? and A4 are cylinders similar in all respects to A and similarly fitted.

The same letters refer to similar parts in all the cylinders one of which A only is more particularly described fory the sake of convenience and brevity.

`B isa plunger made hollow for the sake of lightness and' excepting the passages C is filled with powdered charcoal or other bad conductor of heat and strongly constructed so that the parts containing the charcoal shall be capable of resisting the highest pressure required without permitting the passage of airto the interior. The

passages C pass through the plunger B from top to bottom and contain ravelings of line wire secured thereinso as to fill the space while at the same time allowing a free passage to air through them resembling in fact horse hair as it is` used for stufng chair seats &c. The plunger B is truly turned of a slightly less external diameter than the internal diameter of the cylinder and fitted at the underside with a light metallic or other packing so as when the plunger is moved inthe cylinder to prevent the passage of the opposing air ex-` cepting by the channels provided for it viz.

ythe pipes C before described.

D is a shaft provided with cranks as shown set alternately opposite to each other or one hundred and eighty degrees apart in the circle of their revolution which by means of the `piston rods E actua-te the plungers of the four cylinders so that when B and B3 have reached the end of their stroke upward B2 and B4 have reached the end Of their stroke downward and vice versa or the plungers may be caused to move in a different succession according to the object desired to be accomplished.

S is a stuffing box of the ordinary construction to prevent leakage. Each cylinder is provided with two pipes projecting from the underside thereof one of `which is the `induction pipe and the other the eduction `no return on a contrary condition.

pipe. Each induction pipe is provided with a self-acting valve opening upward as shown at I which admits the passage of air when the pressure above the valve is less than the pressure below it but allrs e eduction pipe H is connected with the induction pipe G2-H2 with G2 and H2 with G12-H2 is provided with a self acting valve I5 opening outward from the cylinder.

J is a cock on the reservoir N. N is a reservoir to which the pipe H4 is connected at O and which is intended to produce more uniformity of pressure.

L is a flue from a furnace not represented in the drawing for the purpose of heating the upper parts of the cylinders or they may be otherwise heated and M is a cold water cistern in which the lower parts of the cylinders are incased for the purpose of cooling them or they may be otherwise kept cooled. Dampers should be provided at the furnace to regulate the degree of heat applied to the cylinders. It is also desirable to attach a safety valve to the reservoir N.

Having now described such parts of the machinery and apparatus as I conceive to be requisite for clearly explaining the principle of my improvements, I will now describe the manner in which the same is to be employed. Heating the upper parts of the cylinders A A2 A3 and A2 and if necessary cooling the lower parts thereof the cylinders and reservoir N being previously full of air at the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere and the cock J shut such portions of the contained air as are exposed to the action of heat as in A2 and A2 will expand; a portion passing into the cylinder A3 and a portion to the reservoir N and by the action of the valves I5 and I5 the pressure will be equalized or very nearly so between the cylinders A2 A3 A4 and the reservoir N portions of air passing in the direction of the arrows. The pressure in A where the contained air is still cold will thus be less than that in any of the vessels in advance of it. But on causing the shaft D partially to revolve a portion of the cold air in the lower part of A will pass to the upper part through the passages C where being exposed to the action of heat increased pressure will result. Part of the air in A2 by the same action will be driven from the hot end of the cylinder through the passages C2 to the cold end and the line wires contained in the passages C2 by abstracting the greater part of the heat contained in t-he air so passing will cause the air pressure in A2 tobe diminished. rI`he action at the same time in A5 will be similar to that in A and the action in A2 will be similar to that in A2. The increasing pressures in A and A2 becoming thus greater than the diminishing pressures in A2 and A4 the valves I2 and IA1 will open and allow further portions of air to advance in the direction of the arrows. The pressures on the completion of a half revolution of the shaft D being equalized or very nearly so between A and A2 as also between A3 and A2. On continuing the revolution of the shaft D a part of the air contained in the hot end of A being displaced by the plunger will pass at C to the cold and leaving the greater portion of its heat in the line wires contained therein the pressure in A being thereby diminished. A portion of the cold air in the lower part of A2 being also displaced by its plunger will ascend by the pipes C2 to the hot end and coming in contact with the wires heated by its own descent while hot as previously described will abstract a large portion of heat therefrom and entering the heated part of the cylinder the pressure therein increases. An action similar to that in A at the same time occurs in A3 and the air in A4 is acted upon similarly to that in A2. When the pressure in A is thus reduced to less than atmospheric pressure the valve I opening admits air to supply the deficiency. When also the increasing pressure in A2 becomes greater than the diminishing pressure in A3 the valve I3 opening allows the passage of portions of air from the cylinder A2 to A5 and when the increasing pressure in A2 becomes greater than the pressure in the reservoir N the valve I5 opening allows a portion of the contents of A4 to pass, Thus on the completion of the revolution of the shaft D the pressure in A will be still equal to atmospheric pressure or very nearly so that in A2 will be equalized or nearly so wit-h that in A3 and that in A2 with the reservoirN a further quantity of air having thus advanced in the direction of the arrows. Continuing the revolution of the shaft D by the same actions any desired amount of pressure may be produced and maintained in the reservoir N dependent with a moderate heat only upon the extent of the combination in series and up to the limits of the strongest apparatus. Obviously increased or diminished heat will produce increased or diminished pressure in the same extent of series and also with the same heat and in the same series the greater the pressure maintained in the reservoir N the less quantity of air will pass forward at each stroke. The action of the series in expanding aeriform iuids is precisely similar to its action in compressing, partial vacuum being produced and maintained in any reservoir which may be lattached to the pipe G. It must however be borne in mind in calculating the effect of the series in producing partial vacuum that ceterz's partousthe less the pressure of cold air in A the less effective in increased ratio is the series in producing differential pressure betweenA and A4. Perfect vacuum is manifestly unattainable by this method.

Having now described my invention of combination in series and serial action as applied to the compression and expansion of elastic iiuid I have only to add to that description that the elastic fluid so compressed in the reservoir N may be .appliedi from the pipe J to an ordinary high pressure steam engine or other suitable description of engine and either alone and cold or more or less heated or in combination with steam. The shaft D may be coupled to the engine so as to make the Whole arrangement to that extent self acting. In starting' the engine either steam may be employed or the shaft D may be uncoupled and Worked by hand until adequate pressure be attained When the engine being started in the ordinary Way the shaft D may be recoupled thereto.

A variety of circumstances doubtless exist in particular cases Which Will render modifications of the apparatus, mode of Working &c. before described desirable and advantageous therefore although I believe the description before given will be found most generally applicable I do not confine myself to that or any particular form of apparatus or manner of using it so long as the principleof action be preserved as set forth in the preamble hereunto.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the manner of performing the same I Would have it understood that I claim as my invention- The compression and expansion of aeriform fluids by an apparatus of the nature herein described the same consisting of a combination and arrangement of a series of cylinders or vessels, perforated or tubular pistons induction and connecting pipes, valves7 a reservoir, a rotary shaft and means of heating or heating and cooling the cylinders or vessels the Whole being constructed and made to operate in manner and for the purpose substantially as herein described.

JOHN JAMESON.

lVitnesses:

GEO. PITT, JOSHUA NUNN. 

